PREDICT: Omics-based models for prediction of hybrid performance in oilseed rape

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Heterosis, or hybrid vigour, is an important phenomenon for improving the yield performance of outcrossing crops. In oilseed rape (Brassica napus L.), hybrids today make up the major share of the international seed market. However, in comparison to other important hybrid crops like maize, oilseed rape shows relatively low levels of yield heterosis. The oilseed rape breeding industry therefore has considerable interest in a more optimal utilisation of heterosis for improvement of hybrid performance. The aim of this project is to develop omics-based prediction models for seed yield heterosis in elite oilseed rape hybrids. Models for prediction of hybrid performance will be developed and tested by comparing DNA sequence, metabolite and transcriptome data from a large set of elite parental lines with comprehensive information from developmental phenotyping and field-based yield evaluations of their F1 offspring. Genome-wide single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) genotyping will be achieved using the new B. napus 60k SNP Infinium array, while the transcriptomic, metabolomic and phenomic analyses will take advantage of the latest mRNA sequencing, mass-spectrometry and high-throughput phenotyping technologies, respectively. The underlying hypothesis, derived from previous observations, is that developmental and yield heterosis are influenced by common regulatory factors and that specific allelic combinations of these factors, together with the metabolite and gene expression profiles they elicit, are associated with improved heterosis. We aim to identify an "omics selection" profile, along with corresponding analytical and statistical methods, that can together be used to streamline breeding processes by pre-selecting parental lines with highest potential for top performing new hybrid combinations. Identification of genomic, transcriptomic, or metabolomic predictors will furthermore support the advancement in our understanding of the molecular processes and mechanisms involved in heterosis manifestation in oilseed rape. By collaborating with two leading German producers of hybrid oilseed rape varieties (Norddeutsche Pflanzenzucht Hans-Georg Lembke KG and Deutsche Saatveredelung AG) we will transfer basic research on a fundamental and high-value plant breeding process into a system with a strong commercial potential for improvement of hybrid breeding.